Page:Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos.djvu/129

on the bottom, arched on the upper side; the ends run out into animal heads. In the middle of the upper side is inserted a piece of cork, which serves as a needle cushion.

The method of sewing is this: the needle is held between thumb and middle finger, the thimble being on the index finger; this presses Image missingFig. 70.Needle-case. 1 : 2. Image missingFig. 71.Sewing-weight. 1 : 3. the needle through and the other two fingers draw the needle and thread towards the body. Skin clothing is sewn with ordinary running stitch (symbol characters) but boots with overcasting (symbol characters) the stitches always going only half-way through so that the water cannot get in through the holes. The stitch always passes from right. to left, so that the thumb nail of the left hand can arrange the skin before the stitch is made. Parry,^[1] on the sewing of the Igluliks, says: "They sew the deer-skins with a "round seem", and the water tight boots and shoes are "stitched". The latter is performed in a very adroit and efficacious manner, by putting the needle only half through the substance of one part of the seal-skin, so as to leave no hole for admitting the water."

I saw no example of basket work among the Iglulik Eskimos; but that this art has formerly been known is to be seen from Lyon's^[2] remarks: "Amongst other trifling purchases which I made was a small round basket, composed af grass."

Pottery making is quite unknown.

There remain a few words to be said about the decorative art of the Iglulik Eskimos. Apart from skin and bead embroidery, which will be dealt with later, only very few objects are decorated: sometimes a comb, a lamp trimmer, buttons for carrying-straps and the needle case referred to in the foregoing. The motives employed are extremely few and simple: the dot-and-circle ornament, parallel lines, rows of dots, notched edges. Two elements which are not used are the two principal motives of the Thule culture: (symbol characters) and